As much as Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo shouldered the burden to give the Bucks a chance to snag a pivotal game 1 victory, their best for the day just wasn’t good enough against a resilient and disciplined Celtics team Sunday afternoon.
The game was filled with stretches by both teams where one shot the ball well, while the other struggled offensively and played poor defense. Heading into the second half, the Bucks found themselves down by 9 and in the midst of a Celtics run. The Bucks dug themselves out of it and evened the score by the end of the third quarter. The Celtics; however, refused to let the Bucks take any sort of substantial lead against them.
Seemingly out of it multiple times, the Bucks refused to give in and turn their attention to game 2. Down 10 points with under 4 1/2 minutes to play, Milwaukee ramped up its defense and used an 8-0 run to make things interesting. Then, with 11.1 seconds left, Malcolm Brogdon launched a three-pointer that tied the game at 96.
The Celtics had a big answer at the other end, and guard Terry Rozier III absolutely buried a clutch three to put the Celtics up 99-96 with .05 seconds remaining in the game.
I watched this game live, and at this very moment in the game, I thought Milwaukee’s luck had run out. They played very well, but I didn’t see it possible for them to save the game yet again. I was proven wrong.
With .05 seconds remaining, the ball was inbounded to guard Khris Middleton, who chucked up a 35 foot prayer which miraculously went in as time expired. The shot was reviewed and it was indeed confirmed that the Middleton had gotten the ball off before the shot clock hit zeros.
Milwaukee’s magic fizzled out in the extra frame, though. The Bucks held a one-point advantage through two minutes but from that point on couldn’t close out possessions with rebounds or muster enough offense to keep up.
Still, the Bucks had their chances. Down two with under a minute left, Middleton picked off a pass to start the break. The ball found guard Malcolm Brogdon, who drove the lane only to have his shot blocked by Celtic’s wing player Jayson Tatum. Brogdon got his own rebound and kicked a pass to Bucks forward Tony Snell in the corner, who launched an off-balance three-pointer that missed the mark. With the shot clock off, the Bucks were forced to foul and Rozier made 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to close it out.
This was a tough game to watch as a Bucks fan. They played extremely hard throughout, but ultimately the vast amount of turnovers caught up with them. If they want to steal game 2 in Boston, Milwaukee will need to buckle down and take care of the ball, instead of coughing it up nearly 20 times like they did this past game.
As the regular season winds down, the Bucks will now turn their attention to which opponent they may face in the first round of the playoffs.